ABC Wednesday: Y

For this week's ABC post, I had to go back to my summer garden to find something that began with Y and found an old standby . . .

. . . Yarrow, or properly known as Achillea millefolium.

Yarrow is a very easy to grow plant that is drought and heat-tolerant, deer-resistant, and not susceptible to pests. While it may not fit into a formal garden, it blends well in a cottage garden or naturalized areas. Two popular hybrids are the yellow Achillea 'Moonshine' and 'Coronation Gold', but the millefolium hybrids are available in a wider range of colors, including 'Appleblossom,' the pink variety that I have.


Yarrow spreads quickly, although I would definitely not classify it as a thug. I started with two plants that I moved from our old house and planted them next to one of the large landscape boulders that border our driveway.


You can see in this larger view that they have grown to encircle half the boulder. Each spring I dig up extra seedlings and plant them in other areas that could use a spot of color or pass them along to friends. This year I planted some "Homestead Purple" Verbena in front of the boulder, which contrasted nicely with the feathery green foliage and the pink blossoms.

Although Achillea is not a showy plant, it does have some lofty origins. According to Anthony Kahtz' Perennials for Midwestern Gardens, "The genus was named for Achilles...who reportedly used the species millefolium to help heal the wounds of his soldiers. And so a common name of the species used primarily in England is soldier's woundweed."

Some other basic facts from Kahtz:

Hardiness: Zones 3a to 9a

Height:1-2 ft.

Spread: 18 in. to 2 ft.

Season of bloom: Early to late summer.


As the flowers age, their blooms fade, eventually turning brown. They are a popular plant to use in both fresh and dried arrangements. One of these years I'm going to attempt drying some flowerheads, but so far my method of dealing with them is to shear them off once they turn brown. Kahtz mentions that they are tough plants that "can be mowed over and bounce right back." I can attest to that, having a rather mower-happy Husband who likes to get as close as possible to everything so he doesn't have to trim. But I'm guilty, too--as I said, I just shear off the plants once they begin to die back, and before long, green foliage and new blossoms reappear.

Achillea is not my "signature plant" nor my favorite by any means, but it should deserve some kind of an award from me. On my first-ever Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post last March, it was featured as it was the only green emerging in my garden. And it was featured again on my last "real" Bloom Day post in November--"real" in the sense that November was the last time anything was really growing in my garden. Even today, after a month of winter and while a "wintry mix" is falling, there is still some green foliage showing. Definitely one tough plant!

For more ABC posts, please visit Mrs. Nesbitt or the ABC Anthology.

DBG: The Ultimate Garden Art!

Are you tired of winter yet? If so, how about a little stroll through a sunshine-filled garden with me. No need to put on a sweater--the temperature will soon soar into the 70's. Just grab a cup of coffee or tea--it will take a little while to see all the sights, but I promise not to talk too much.


As most of you know, I visited my daughter in Phoenix in early December, and while there I took a morning to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens. I had visited the Gardens on my first visit to Phoenix back in January; in fact, one of my very first blog posts featured this fascinating place. I was eager to see the Gardens again, but what I didn't know is that I was in for a very special treat.

An unsuspecting visitor might wonder what those unusual chartreuse flowers were towering above the succulents at the entrance to the Gardens. I should have gotten the name for these for Mr. McGregor's Daughter who is partial to chartreuse, I know, but I was too intent on photographing them to notice the identifying sign. Besides, there is no botanical name for these.

This lovely "plant" is actually a sculpture of glass, part of an ongoing exhibit at DBG by the famous glass artist Dale Chihuly. Fortunately, I had checked out the Garden's website for its hours before going, so I knew that the exhibit was there. If you happen to be in the Phoenix area and decide to see the exhibit, be sure to check out the website first. Because they expect many visitors, reservations are recommended. I was lucky that on this Monday morning they were not that busy and I was able to get in without a reservation.

I came to admire the cacti, like the saguaros, but it was impossible not be entranced by the art strategically placed around and among them. This piece is called "Tiger Lilies."

I took so many photos on this morning, but many of them were of the identifying signs so I wouldn't forget the names of some of the more unusual plants I saw. Unfortunately, in my eagerness to get the best angle for a photo, I often forgot to take photos of the signs accompanying the artwork. Hmmm, I'm guessing this is some kind of tree--what do you think?

Another unidentified piece placed among the succulents and shrubs with mesquite and Palo Verde trees in the background. Don't they look like flower stems waving in the breeze?

This was one of my favorites--blue is my favorite color, after all. Besides the tall spikes rising among the agave, you might also notice some large blue balls as well.

This was one of the most unusual pieces, set on a higher slope of the Gardens so that it appeared even taller than it already was. If you enlarge this, you might be able to see that is made up of numerous twists of glass tubing. I wish I could have gotten a better picture--a visitor on a cell phone(!) was standing right next to it, blocking my view. At least I did get the name of this piece--"Saffron Tower." Think of all the dishes Frances could flavor with this much saffron!

Another piece whose name was hard to miss was this one--"The Moon." Just the sheer size of some of Chihuly's work was amazing, but look even closer to be further amazed.

Is there such a thing as plate tectonics on the moon?? I have no idea how this piece was constructed.

Although I had heard of Chihuly before, I must admit I knew very little about his work. And I'm not much of an art connoisseur, but I am now a big fan. His work ranges from the whimsical, such as this "Crimson and Yellow Chandelier" . . .

. . . to the magnificent, including this piece, "Chiostro di Sant' Apollonia Chandelier." Can you imagine this hanging from the ceiling in your foyer?!

I would love to have these "Blue Fiddleheads" growing in my garden.

I mentioned this exhibit briefly in a post when I first returned from Arizona, and several people commented that they had seen the exhibit in Missouri or other Botanical Gardens. Until that time, I wasn't aware that Chihuly's exhibit had traveled to other places. Every work seemed to fit in so well that it appeared as though he had created each piece specifically for each area of the DBG. These "Blue and Green Ferns," for example, seem like the perfect complement to this area of native shrubs with Papago Peak in the background.

Of course, there were a few surprises. Who would have expected some sea life in the middle of the Sonoran Desert? This photo doesn't do them justice, but the "White Belugas" seemed perfectly at home here. I like an artist who has a sense of humor.

The scope of this exhibit, "The Nature of Glass," was impressive. There were so many works of art that you never knew what to expect as you rounded each part of the trail. These pink spires (name now forgotten) seemed to grow naturally among the small cacti here.

As did the tall purple stalks in front of the organ pipe cactus.

Red spikes in another area gave a jolt of color to the otherwise green landscape.

If the sun hadn't been shimmering off these "Mirrored Hornets" and if you were a little myopic, you might have thought at first glance that this was a planting of agaves.

Although most displays contained one color scheme, in a few areas several works were combined for a dramatic display. This piece just blows my mind! At first glance while going through my photos, I thought this was purple glass placed in the center of a succulent. But a closer look revealed that the green bracts are also glass. You really need to enlarge this photo to see the magnificent detail. Notice the "Mirrored Hornets" around it with the "Blue Fiddleheads" in the background.

The Chihuly exhibit will be on display at the Desert Botanical Gardens through May of this year. If you are in the Phoenix area, I would definitely make this part of your itinerary. If you can't make it to Phoenix, check out Chihuly's website; although "The Nature of Glass" is not currently scheduled to appear elsewhere, it may be after May. Also, check out Cosmo's latest post; she is currently in Phoenix and also visited the DBG. She has a couple fantastic photos of some of the art at sunset, and she plans to have a more complete posting later.

I have become fascinated by the plant life of the desert, but you will notice I don't have many plants shown here--I have so many photos that I decided to do a second post just on the plant life, probably next week. I came to the Botanical Gardens to learn more about these Southwest natives, but I found so much more. This was the ultimate combination of nature and art.

Garden Muse Day: Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that the new year brings you health and happiness.

The beginning of a new year is often greeted with optimism. We hope that this will be the year that world peace is finally achieved. This new year, in particular, we hope that the world economy will improve and that those who have lost jobs recently will find new employment. As individuals, we see this as a chance to begin anew, to quit bad habits and start good ones. We are filled with determination to be better people this year and to achieve our goals. 2009 has just begun; anything is possible!

Today is also Garden Muse Day brought to you the first of each month by Caroyln Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. I was hoping to find a poem that reflected the wishes for a New Year, something that was profound and might inspire you. In the end, though, I couldn't resist sharing a poem I really like and that only gardeners may appreciate.

Winter Promises

Tomatoes rosy as perfect baby's buttocks,
eggplants glossy as waxed fenders,
purple neon flawless glistening
peppers, pole beans fecund and fast
growing as Jack's Viagra-sped stalk,
big as truck tire zinnias that
mildew will never wilt, roses weighing down,
a bush never touched by black spot,
brave little fruit trees shouldering up
their spotless ornaments of glass fruit:


I lie on the couch under a blanket
of seed catalogs ordering

far too much. Sleet slides down

the windows, a wind edged

with ice knifes through every crack.

Lie to me, sweet garden-mongers:

I want to believe every promise,

to trust in five pound tomatoes

and dahlias brighter than the sun

that was eaten by frost last week.


by Marge Piercy




Happy Gardening in the New Year!

(I'm also going to wish in 2009 that Blogger will be more cooperative in its spacing. After numerous attempts to correct the spacing in the second stanza, I give up!)

ABC Wednesday: X is for Xeriscaping

This week we have come to the letter X, normally a difficult letter, since few words actually start with X. However, a gardening-related word much in vogue right now is Xeriscape.

Xeriscaping refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that take into account the natural water supply and do not require additional irrigation. The word Xeriscape was coined by a task force in Denver, Colorado in 1978 and is actually a registered trademark of the water department of Denver. The word comes from the Greek word for "dry," xeros.

In arid climates like that of Arizona and other parts of the Southwest, it is easy to see why such a concept is important. On my first visit to Phoenix last winter I noticed that many homes did not even have lawns, just gravel and rock often landscaped with cacti and succulents. Areas with lush green lawns require daily watering to maintain them, as I discovered one night while walking around my daughter's apartment complex--I returned inside with soaked clothes after being surprised by the automatic water sprinklers!

While you might assume that only cacti like the prickly pear cactus shown above would be appropriate to grow in such a dry environment, I discovered that is not the case. A website on Arizona xeriscaping recommended many plants besides cacti and succulents for gardeners, including two that I saw everywhere while visiting Phoenix.

Oleander, which I showed on a previous post, is actually one of the recommended plants on the Arizona list. It is described as a plant which grows quickly and adaptable to dry climates.

The same is true of the beautiful bougainvillea. These plants were part of the landscaping around a Blockbuster Video Store! Notice the oleander in the background, too. Both plants are also used as part of highway landscaping; I saw many of them in beds of rock while we drove along the freeways around Phoenix. And here I thought Arizona must spend a lot of money on watering its highway plantings!

I must admit to not knowing much about xeriscaping; in fact, I had never even heard of the word until fairly recently. But in doing a little research, I discovered that gardeners in dry climates like the Southwest or other areas of the country subject to drought are not the only ones concerned with conserving water. That, of course, is the main purpose of xeriscaping--conserving precious water--but another reason is to plant a garden that is lower maintenance and can withstand the occasional periods of drought.

Here in the Midwest we don't have a dry climate--this past summer was one of the wettest on record--but we have had some summers of severe drought and usually have at least one "dry spell" every summer. I discovered several websites related to Illinois xeriscaping, although we often use the term "drought-tolerant" instead. On most of these websites you will find tips on planning a garden to survive drought plus databases of recommended plants.

Interestingly, the Arizona xeriscape website recommended the blanket flower or gaillardia. This traditional flower is also a native plant in the Midwest where it is easily grown. I took the picture above at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix where it looked just as good as in any Illinois garden. One of the things I learned about xeriscaping from my little bit of reading is something I already knew--you can't go wrong planting native plants.

If you are interested in learning more about xeriscaping, just google the word with your state. For my garden blogging friends, you may not learn anything new, but it's nice to know when you are planning a low-maintenance garden that you are also helping to conserve one of the earth's precious resources.

To see more ABC post visit Mrs. Nesbitt's Place or the ABC Anthology.

Since it is almost New Year's Eve, I hope that however you observe the occasion, whether celebrating with friends or spending a quiet evening at home, that everyone has a happy and SAFE New Year's Eve!

"Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful..."

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and time to relax from the often hectic pace of the season. We had both, although the weather was not very cooperative. In the past week we have run the gamut from frigid temperatures to a warm day in the 60's, from snow and ice to heavy thunderstorms with threats of tornadoes.

The forecast was for a white Christmas, and looking out across the lawn through my living room window last Tuesday, that seemed like a definite possibility.

However, what you can't tell from the photo is that while there is a light dusting of snow, most of the white you see is actually a sheet of ice! The day before saw wind chills below zero, then the next day it warmed up enough so that the predicted snow turned to freezing rain instead. Roads were covered with ice, making for very treacherous driving. Many holiday travellers found themselves stranded as flights were cancelled at O'Hare and other Midwest airports.


Yesterday temperatures soared into the sixties, and the ice melted, leaving flooded roads and fields in its wake. Heavy thunderstorms added to the mess. We did make it to my parents' house for a Christmas brunch and a nice afternoon with my brother and his family, although the constant warnings from the weather radio in the next room created some unease. I have to admit I was happy to get home safe and sound last night--to a thankfully dry basement.



The fluctuating temperatures and high winds at times left their mark. Our yard is littered with broken pine branches that will require some time to clean up as soon as the weather cooperates.


It's a colder, but more normal winter day today, but there is a strange yellow glow in the sky I haven't seen for awhile--oh, it's the sun shining! While we Illinoisans have been complaining about the weather all week, at least it's a nice change of pace from our usual topic of complaint these days--state politics:)


Despite the bad weather, we were able to have our Christmas celebrations as planned. Although several local churches had to cancel their Christmas Eve services, my children were able to get here for our family get-together on Christmas Eve, and everyone managed to navigate our ice-covered driveway without falling. Earlier in the day I was worried my husband would miss out on the fun of watching the children open their presents because he has been on call at nights this week for highway snowplowing duties. Fortunately, the roads were clear enough that he was able to spend Christmas Eve and Day with us.

Christmas presents were eagerly ripped open on Christmas Eve, and the grandchildren had a grand time playing with all their new toys until it was time for them to go home and get a little sleep before Santa came to their own houses the next day. My husband and I spent Christmas Day at home alone, which actually turned out to be very nice and peaceful. My husband appreciated the time to catch up on much-needed rest after spending several days of working twelve-hour shifts, and with a John Wayne film marathon on one TV channel and a James Bond marathon on another, he was perfectly content! I took advantage of his mid-afternoon nap to set up the new Wii Fit I received for Christmas. That's a good thing, since the holidays have been filled with too many tempting goodies.

My five-year-old granddaughter came over a few days before Christmas to help me bake Christmas cookies. We made several dozen cookies, although we would have had more if she hadn't eaten so much leftover cookie dough :0) Her favorite part is decorating, as you can see. I set out cans of decorator icing and all kinds of sprinkles and let her go at it.

Anyone need a sugar fix??

Although the festivities are over, the decorations and Christmas tree will stay up through New Year's Day, as is my usual custom. I like to savor the holiday spirit as long as I can and enjoy the familiar ornaments as well as a few new ones, including this one received just a few days before Christmas.

This lovely mitten ornament was made by Amy at Blossom, and I was the lucky winner of her giveaway! You might enlarge the photo to see the intricate embroidery and detail. Even though she is recovering from recent knee surgery, Amy managed to send these all the way from British Columbia just in time for Christmas. Thank you so much, Amy! I will treasure these mittens, and they will be hanging on my tree every year.

Again, I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas, and I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Christmas Blessings

The letter for this week's ABC Wednesday is W, and I could have posted a photo to illustrate . . .

. . . Winter, or I could wish you all a Frohliche Weihnachten!

But since this Wednesday is also Christmas Eve, I assume that most of you, like me, will be busy with family activities or last-minute preparations for Christmas Day. So I wanted to post a few days early to wish you all a Merry Christmas.


The "hustle and bustle" of Christmas is nearly over for me with most preparations completed. I have time to sit back and reflect, counting my blessings this Christmas.


Everyone has their own Christmas traditions. As a child, our family would attend Christmas Eve services, and when we returned home Santa had come! It was not until I was older that I realized that Santa made an early appearance at our house so that we would have time as a family, since Christmas Day was spent at two different grandparents' homes. When I married, my husband and I made this our own Christmas tradition, again so that we had our own family time.

Today, the grandchildren know that it's not Santa who comes to our house. But as they open presents from Grandpa and Grandma and their aunts and uncles, their eyes still shine with delight. We re-live the magic of Christmas through their eyes.



In recent years more stockings have been added as new grandchildren were born or new "significant others" are introduced to the family.

No one is forgotten on Christmas:)

Some traditions change, though: this year for the first time my husband and I will spend Christmas Day alone. My children will be spending the day with their in-laws, and that is as it should be. Although we usually spend Christmas Day at my mother's, she always regrets the fact that most of the grandchildren cannot make it, so I persuaded her to postpone the family gathering this year until the weekend when more of the grandchildren will be able to attend. I am older--and wiser, I hope--and can appreciate the peacefulness of a quiet day at home.

I look at the angels on my tree, crocheted by my mother and think how blessed I am to be able to spend Christmas with both of my parents.

Older Daughter will not be here for Christmas, but Boyfriend's family will be spending the holidays with them in Arizona. I am happy that the two of them will still have a family Christmas.

And I think of a local family whose only daughter was killed this past week in a tragic car accident. I will say a prayer for them and remember how blessed I am.

Angels are in abundance here at Christmas, and some of them have taken on special meanings. I think of those who are no longer with us, including my dear goddaughter Andrea. I am blessed to have good friends, especially my life-long friends Beckie and her husband. I share their joys and sorrows.

I think of those who have lost their jobs in the past few months, and then look at all the presents under our tree. We are not financially rich, by any means, but we are blessed to be able to provide for our family and to help in a small way those less fortunate.

And we are blessed to live in a country where everyone may worship as they choose and celebrate the holiday in their own ways.

My wish this Christmas is the one first uttered over 2,000 years ago:

"Peace on Earth
Goodwill to Men."

To all of you, my dear blogging friends, I wish you a very blessed Christmas.

ABC Wednesday: "How I Spent My Winter Vacation"

I hadn't planned on participating in ABC Wednesday today, but I couldn't resist--V is the perfect letter for telling you about . . .

. . .My Vacation!

As most of you know, I returned last week from spending a little over a week with my daughter in Phoenix, Arizona. On one of my last days there, Daughter took the day off from work so we could do a little sight-seeing. We travelled east of Phoenix to the Superstition Mountains in Tonto National Forest, where the photo above and the one below were taken.

On my first visit to Arizona last January, Daughter and her boyfriend took me to Sedona, about a two-hour drive north of Phoenix, which is a very scenic area full of the red-rocked mountains that could easily have been the backdrop for many an old Western. The Superstition Mountains near Phoenix are not nearly as colorful, but they are picturesque nonetheless. To a girl from the flat lands of Central Illinois, I was awed by the mountains, but our drive followed a sometimes steep road with winding curves and sheer drop-offs that had me clinging tensely to the armrests--and sometimes Daughter's arm (which she didn't appreciate).


Along the way there were some interesting spots, including a restored ghost town where gold was purportedly discovered in the 1800's. Daughter also stopped at a famous spot, unmarked by signs, where the old TV western "The Rifleman" was shot; I took photos of the barn and small jail for Husband to entice him to accompany me on my next trip. After several miles of me clenching my teeth, we finally stopped for lunch at an authentic-looking restaurant called Tortilla Flats, complete with saddles for seats at the bar. (We opted for a booth.)



What sensible person takes a vacation in December? You probably think a very well-organized one with all her Christmas presents purchased and placed in their wrappings under the tree and with all her Christmas cards sent and holiday baking finished. Hardly. Most of those tasks are still waiting to be done as I write this post. But Daughter is not coming home for Christmas, and since this will be the first year I haven't had all four children here for the holidays, I couldn't wait until January to visit her. It was a wonderful week with lots of quality time with Daughter, her boyfriend, and the granddogs; hopefully, now I won't get too misty-eyed on Christmas Eve.


It was a little difficult to get in the Christmas spirit while there despite the holiday decorations everywhere. Somehow garlands and red bows just don't look the same without a little snow beside them.

Instead of a full moon rising over a blanket of snow, a cloudless sky provided the perfect, if not wintery, backdrop for the moon above a palm tree.


Daughter and I took several shopping excursions, including my introduction to Nordstrom's Rack (!!) and some Christmas shopping. But she also had to work several days while I was there, so I had plenty of time to explore on my own and just relax. Of course, the plant life was something that fascinated me. Besides the cacti and the palm trees, there were many other plants I was unaccustomed to seeing. I spied several orange and lemon trees in the grassy area behind her apartment building.

Even walking around the apartment complex, which was well-landscaped, gave me the opportunity to indulge in my gardener's curiosity. These fuschia flowers were blooming on a rather large tree, but I have no idea what they are. Any ideas?

And everywhere I looked were these flowering shrubs. They looked so familiar to me, but I couldn't think of their name, and non-gardening Daughter wasn't any help.

Finally, thanks to Chandramouli, who pictured one of these just recently on his blog, and to Gail, I realized these were oleander!

Another lovely flower in bloom everywhere--and I do mean everywhere--were these bright red shrubs/vines. Again, no one could identify them for me until I finally asked at a nursery where I purchased some agaves. Those of you from the South probably recognize these immediately--they're bougainvillea! They were simply stunning, but if I were to add to last Wednesday's post about ubiquitous plants, I would definitely have to add the bougainvillea and the oleander to that list for Arizona.

While the arid conditions of this part of Arizona make it difficult to grow many plants, even grass, without irrigation, that doesn't stop gardeners from trying. This apartment resident had a balcony full of blooming lantana.

It was easy to get back into the routine of walking when the skies were clear and the weather warm. Walking behind the apartment complex, I found a bike path that led to a small lake inhabited by ducks and occasionally other waterfowl.

The ducks were obviously used to human visits and seemed disappointed when I didn't have any bread crumbs for them.

Still on Central time, I often awoke before anyone else in the household and found myself drawn to the lake and the ducks most mornings. It certainly was a peaceful way to start the day.

When I wasn't relaxing with the ducks or checking out the local landscape, I did manage to fit in several shopping trips and some sightseeing on my own.

Old Town Scottsdale is an interesting place to visit for a few hours. Shops with old Western shopfronts run along Fifth Avenue for several blocks, selling everything from authentic-looking Southwestern jewelry to Native Indian artifacts to typical tacky tourist souvenirs. Daughter and I also went to nearby Tempe one afternoon where they were celebrating their annual Arts Festival. Unfortunately, none of my pictures of it turned out that well, but no matter. Block after block had lines of booths selling all kinds of wares. I bought only a few items, although I was very tempted by some garden sculptures until I realized the impossibility of taking them home on the plane!

But my favorite place during the trip was the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. I had visited the Gardens in January, but this time I was lucky to be here for the beginning of an exhibit by glass artist Chihuly.

This sculpture entitled "Float Boat" was just one of so many placed strategically about the gardens. The exhibit runs through May 2009, so if you are in the Phoenix area during the next several months, definitely take the time to visit the Gardens. I took so many pictures that I'm going to wait to do a separate post just on the Gardens, probably in January when green plants and vibrant colors will be a welcome relief from the snow.

On the plane ride over, I struck up a conversation with a woman seated next to me who was from Phoenix. She recommended several places I might like to visit, and when we discovered a mutual interest in mysteries, she suggested I visit a little book store called "The Poisoned Pen." As it turned out, it was only a few blocks from Daughter's office, so she took me there one evening after I picked her up from work.

What a treat for any mystery lover! This is not your typical "big box" bookstore. Only mysteries and related genre can be found here, and hanging from the walls are photos of all the authors who have visited the store for book signings. The salesperson was a young man who was more than willing to help and recognized the names of every author I mentioned. All my favorites--Martha Grimes, Elizabeth George, Patricia Cornwell, and Sara Paretsky, just to name a few--have been here at one time or another, and the store has many copies of signed novels, including first editions. Although I passed on buying any books for myself, I did buy a signed copy of a fantasy novel for my granddaughter and couldn't resist a tote bag for myself. I also signed up for their e-mail newsletter, which means I can order a signed, personalized edition of a book in the future. I can't wait to see who might be appearing there next! For any mystery fans, this store is a real gem.

Finally, my stay came to an end. Before I left, I said goodbye to my feathered friends . . .

. . . and watched one last Arizona sunset.

The next morning, presents were left under the tree, and I exchanged big hugs with Daughter, Boyfriend, and the "boys" Odie and Bear. I think I needed this vacation, but most of all I needed to share a little Christmas with Daughter and her family.

For more ABC Wednesday posts, visit Mrs. Nesbitt or the ABC Anthology.